Crypto’s billions are back, but the premiums aren’t
Venture capital and public-market activity in crypto is reviving, but investors are no longer granting the broad valuation premiums seen in the prior boom. Kalshi is reported to be seeking about $1 billion at a $40 billion valuation, Blockchain.com is preparing a roughly $500 million IPO targeting a $4 billion to $6 billion valuation, and most digital-asset treasury firms now trade below their net asset value, according to industry reports.
Why It Matters
These developments indicate renewed capital flows into crypto companies while also showing a reevaluation of how markets price crypto exposure — especially for firms that once relied on share-price premiums over underlying crypto holdings to fund growth. The pricing gap affects financings, IPO expectations and the viability of treasury-based business models.
Key Facts
- Kalshi funding target: $1 billion
- Kalshi sought valuation: $40 billion
- Kalshi May Series F valuation: $22 billion
- Blockchain.com IPO target raise: about $500 million
- Blockchain.com sought IPO valuation: $4 billion to $6 billion
Investors are again allocating large sums to crypto-focused companies, but the era of routine valuation premiums appears to have waned. Reuters reported that prediction-market platform Kalshi is in advanced talks to raise roughly $1 billion at a $40 billion valuation, nearly double the $22 billion valuation it received in a May Series F round. The talks are not finalized and terms could change.
At the same time, blockchain services provider Blockchain.com has confidentially filed draft IPO documents and is said to be aiming to raise about $500 million at a $4 billion to $6 billion valuation, well below the roughly $14 billion valuation it held during the last crypto boom. Bloomberg flagged that recently listed crypto firms have traded far under their post-IPO highs, a dynamic that could temper demand for new offerings.
Publicly traded digital-asset treasury (DAT) companies have seen the sharpest reappraisal. A DWF Ventures report found that only four of the 20 largest DATs by assets under management trade above an mNAV of 1 — Bit Digital, Strive, Hyperliquid Strategies and BitMine — suggesting most treasury models no longer command the premium that once let firms issue equity to buy crypto without diluting shareholders.
Security risks remain a material operational concern for exchanges. Bitget said it lost $388 million in a breach and CEO Gracy Chen told Cointelegraph she is pessimistic about recovering the funds, citing the limited freezing of assets after the 2025 Bybit hack as precedent. NEAR blocked more than $50 million tied to the incident and froze about $500,000, while Tether and Circle blacklisted a wallet and froze $318,013 in USDT and USDC. Bitget resumed withdrawals in stages, starting with Bitcoin and then Ethereum.
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